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17 July 2016

Zentralfriedhof - The Central Cemetery of Vienna

TheZentralfriedhof is
the Central Cemetery of Vienna. It isone of the largest cemeteries in the world, largest
by number of interred in Europeand most famouscemeteryamongVienna's nearly 50 cemeteries. It is situated on the
outskirts of the city, in the district ofSimmering (Simmeringer
Hauptstraße 230–244, Vienna 1110, Austria).
The giant cemetery spans to an area of about 2.4 square kilometres (590 acres). It accommodates over 330.000
graves. The cemetery was designed
in 1870, according to the plans of the Frankfurt landscape architects Karl
Jonas Mylius andAlfred Friedrich Bluntschli.
The cemetery was opened onAll Saints' Dayin
1874.

Zentralfriedhof has a dead population of almost twice the present living
residents ofVienna. In its early incarnations,
it was so unpopular due to the distance from the city center that the
authorities had to think of ways to make it more attractive – hence the
development of theEhrengräberor honorary graves as a kind of
tourist attraction. Vienna is a city of music since time immemorial, and the
municipality expressed gratitude to composers by granting them monumental
tombs. The notable tombs found here are those ofLudwig van Beethoven,Franz
Schubert, Johannes Brahms,Antonio
Salieri,Johann
Strauss IIandArnold
Schoenberg. AcenotaphhonoursWolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who is buried in
nearbySt. Marx
Cemetery.

Schubert's tomb!

Brahms' tomb!

Beethoven's tomb

Mozart's memorial!

The church in the centre of the cemetery is namedKarl-Borromäus-Kirche (Charles BorromeoChurch), but is also known asDr.Karl-Lueger-Gedächtniskirche (Karl Lueger Memorial Church). This church inArt Nouveaustyle was built in 1908–1910 by Max Hegele.

We were lucky enough to strike poses near few of the massive tombs!

Interestingly
the Zentralfriedhof is interdenominational with not only the Catholic and Protestant but also the Jewish, Muslim,
Russian orthodox, Greek Orthodox,Romanian Orthodox, Bulgarian Orthodox,Serbian Orthodox,Coptic Orthodox Churches and even Buddhist cemeteries. Among the Viennese, a popular euphemism for a death is that the deceased
person "has taken the 71"("Er hat den 71er genommen"). Oopsies.... Apparenty "Tram 71" was the one most used by us during the trip!!!